Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price target raised by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $19.50 to $22.50 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 2.41% from the company’s previous close.

BEN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.66.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $21.97 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a PE ratio of 25.55, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $21.26 and a 200-day moving average of $21.62. Franklin Resources has a 12 month low of $18.94 and a 12 month high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total value of $345,309.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,519 shares in the company, valued at $1,596,245.49. This represents a 17.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Franklin Resources by 2.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $432,730,000 after buying an additional 599,045 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $147,312,000 after acquiring an additional 422,688 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $158,582,000 after purchasing an additional 676,760 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $71,171,000 after purchasing an additional 54,063 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,421,000 after purchasing an additional 925,590 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides its services to individuals, institutions, pension plans, trusts, and partnerships. It launches equity, fixed income, balanced, and multi-asset mutual funds through its subsidiaries.